Boehner Using Threat of Govt Shutdown Wisely

Republicans took the blame and suffered serious political losses when the government shut down in 1995 over their budget conflict with President Bill Clinton. And House Speaker John Boehner is taking steps to make sure that doesn’t happen again, The Hill reports.

John Boehner

He is guiding Republicans to a less adamant, confrontational stance than the one they adopted last time around. Boehner realizes that shutting the government down isn’t a goal, but that the threat of a shutdown can be used to advance the process, a source close to him tells The Hill.

“He’s not going to back down because a government shutdown is imminent. He’s not going to be forced into a bad deal … [but] I think that he’s smart enough to do it in a way that it will not be on the Republicans’ watch.”